Like from a physical/mental standpoint. I'm not asking if it's possible, or for scientific evidence or anything like that. I want to know what YOU think about my question. Do you ever ponder death, in general, and wonder if even for a short few seconds, after we die, that somehow, we will be cognizant of it?
For those who believe in the afterlife, what part of ourselves will realize and experience that?
This might be a stupid question, but I have often wondered this.
I never had a concept of any type of afterlife (or repeated lives such as rebirth). I would have never had any if I didnt come on RF. I had a break through earlier this year with having outpatient general anethesia surgery to replace the battery of a device (VNS for seizures) in my chest.
I was in the operating room watching all the doctors fiddle with their gadgets. A nurse came up to me and said, holding a breathing mask, "here, this will help you breathe" and that was it. Lights out.
It made me think of a couple of things both disturbing but helpful nonetheless
1. It made me think of the holocaust. Brief note, instead of helping me breathe, it kills me instead.... did the victims philosophize? That wasnt the first thing on their mind whether jesus were god and whether its rebirth or reincarnation.
2. *Cough* It made me think of the Dharma. The Buddha taught that once we know everything about suffering and mortality (birth/life/age/death) we
actually die.
While Im not a sacred-book person, the Dharma has a lot of life facts I didnt really get until I started reading how he put different lessons which are a lot into analogies. Being a poet, that was a breathe of fresh air. I understood.
3. Anethesia (and the nurse) made me think that when I was wheeled intot the operating room, I could have had so many things in my head from practical things such as infections and stroke to the off ball things like would I go to heaven if I dont wake up. I had none of that. Even with my brain surgery, I had none of that.
So, it made me think this afterlife-stuff is highly subjective. Its not a fact at all but what we use, say our beliefs or connection with family or early retirement, to cope with life and its end.
One abbot told me at the temple I went to, her master had to go into the hospital for blood preasure. They wanted to give her all of these meds. She did specific meditation tecnhiques (not he-he-he ha-ha-ha) little more advanced
) and brought her presure down where she didnt need the meds.
4. I woke up one morning fresh to go, in the middle of the day I couldnt walk or see (now Im walking around with a heart monitor for a month). I had end up in the ER room but I would have never known it just by waking up.
Each time I think of it, it is just like death; we dont know. We can continue not to know but once the nurse puts the masks over our face, lights out. Our philosohies mean nothing (literaly, they are attachments). Like trying to eat soup even when you finished it even drunk the rest of the liquid.
Anyway....my thoughts: lights out. It would be nice to have an afterlife belief but then Id be cheating myself from the Truth.
